3 students arrested after 6 handguns found at Pontiac school

Three Pontiac Township High School students were in police custody Tuesday, accused of bringing six handguns to school.

The students, who were not named because they are juveniles, may be tried as adults for bringing the firearms on school property, a felony, according to Livingston County State's Attorney Tom Brown.

A bail hearing would likely be held Wednesday.

The situation began about 8:30 a.m. when a student alerted school resource officer Bill Reynolds about two students who possibly had firearms in their possession. The school was locked down while police searched the grounds.

“Three students were immediately taken into custody and six weapons were located in a book bag which had been placed into one of the lockers at the high school,” said Pontiac Police Chief Dale Newsome.

Newsome said he believed everyone involved in the incident was apprehended.

"We had comprehensive, in-depth interviews with the three subjects we took in custody to make sure no one else was involved, and to ensure that they did not hand off other weapons or ammunition to other people," said Newsome. "The relationship (between the suspects) I do not know as yet, due to this still being an ongoing, active
investigation."

Mayor Scott McCoy was surprised that weapons were found in a school in Pontiac, a town of about 11,000.

"This is an eye-opener for the city of Pontiac," he added. "We kind of really don't expect to see this in a community like ours, so it's a little bit of a shock. It's something that needs to be addressed and looked at. ... Where this started was an observant student who brought it to the attention of someone who needed to know. There's one major hero and it was a student who stood up and did what he or she had to do to make sure their fellow students and classmates were safe."

School is expected to resume today.

Dist. 90 Supt. Leo Johnson told a group of about 60 parents, relatives and students that officials will look at how the incident unfolded to seek measures to increase safety.